Jesus asks "What do you want me to do for you?" in the Gospel of Mark, vs. 46-52. Just prior to this in the last few verses James and John ask to be allowed to sit on either side of Jesus in his glory. Jesus next asks a blind beggar who responds with "let me see again". The one story deals with the spiritual blindness surrounding Jesus, with even his most intimate circle still not understanding his message, and the other with the physical blindness of Bartimaeus.
In the culture of the time, it was thought that all ailments were punishment from God for sin, and the religious attitudes made the person unclean. This blind beggar would have been sitting on the ground on his cloak which would help catch whatever meager coins were thrown his way. This man was surrounded by all he owned in the world. A complete outsider, unclean, despised, lowly. That is why when he first cries out people tell him to hush, not to bother Jesus or to disturb this procession into Jerusalem. It is a story reminiscent of the disciples trying to keep the children from Jesus. It seems there were always gatekeepers trying to keep those who may have seemed unworthy from entering Jesus’ presence. However, each time Jesus says..bring them to me...or let them come to me...or calls them to himself.
The irony of the story is lost if we don’t see the full context. The name Bartimaeus means "son of honor" yet this man sits with no honor, and as one lost to society. His blindness is quite evident and he knows he is blind, whereas those who are spiritually blind don’t really perceive themselves as being blind. They assume they are righteous and deserving of a place in the inner circle. That is why James and John thought nothing of asking Jesus for places of honor. Yet as Jesus is beginning his entry into Jerusalem, his last miracles before going to the cross, are restoring sight and hope and life to those who are completely lost to the world.
The crowd first tries to quiet the blind beggar, but he will not be dissuaded, just as many before him reached out in faith to Jesus. Their faith in him is so strong and clear, they believe he can and will heal them and he does. They risk their lives in attempting to reach and touch him. In the other healing stories Jesus has often told them to go and tell no one. But in this one, Bartimaeus leaves his former life and follows Jesus on the way. This is a story of transformation, of leaving behind a former life and being renewed by Christ. This man follows Christ on his way to the cross. It is a story of transforming discipleship.
How does transformation speak to us as a community of faith, as Christ’s church in today’s world? How do we go out into the world to help restore people to hope, and vision, and life? I believe we at St. Timothy’s have clearly spoken that we want to be involved in the world through mission. We want to bring hope to those with little or no hope. We want to be healed of spiritual blindness to the pain of the world so that we can be a real presence for Christ. As little as our church may seem, we do much to work outside our walls, but there is always more to do. As we look forward to our next year and the work we prepare for ourselves, we need the help, and involvement of everyone.
One example of working beyond our walls is the Alternative Gift Fair we hold annually. It is an opportunity for non-profit agencies to come together under our roof, to seek donations and volunteers. It is a way for us to partner with other groups who want to make an impact on this world. Do any of us really need another dust collector when we can give towards a life saving item like a mosquito net in honor of a loved one? We reach out to those that may be different than us but are still part of God’s beloved children. We reach out to those who are working towards justice and mercy in all of the world. As the church we are part of those surrounding Jesus. And in our Gospel story, Jesus was surrounded by those who wanted to buffer him from the crowd, from those selected and self-defined insiders who tried to determine who was allowed to come close. And just like all the other times these buffers tried to prevent Jesus from the uncleanness surrounding him, he reaches right out and plunges himself into it. He touches the unclean and becomes ritually unclean himself. He defies the society’s rules and reaches out to change things. He shakes up the status quo to be sure people understand that no one is beyond his help.
In what ways do we sometimes prevent people from seeing who Jesus is? In what ways does our spiritual blindness prevent us from moving forward in our call to discipleship? Can we like Bartimaeus leave our old life behind to follow Jesus on the way to the cross? Do we sometimes hold on to our iconic ways, and beliefs in a way that causes us to be blinded to other ways? How tightly do we hold to the "way it has always been done" or to the way we have always worshipped, so that it becomes part of our spiritual blindness to God’s new leading? Do we leave the church in anger because things are no longer being done the way we want them done instead of being joyful that the Holy Spirit is moving and change is a result? Change is not easy, but it means growth.
We have a choice. We can be like those insiders surrounding Christ who are his gatekeepers determining who gets close and who doesn’t. Who worships like us, who likes the same things we do, who want only those things we think are valuable or spiritual or redeeming. Or we can call out to Jesus, like the lepers, the lame, the sinful, did for healing. Or like Bartimeaus we can ask him to let us see again, to see the way of the cross, regardless of those who would try to quiet us, or prevent us from entering his presence. To follow the way of the cross in our faith that Jesus can and will heal us of whatever hardness of heart, or blindness of spirit that tries to limit us.
So when Jesus asks you What do you want me to do for you…what will your response be?
